Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Windsor Castle......Stonehenge.....Bath....fish and chips

16 January 2012 - Went on a coach trip today - I travelled over 300 miles and thoroughly enjoyed it -  a lot of very beautiful countryside. The temperature was zero when we started out but beautiful blue skies and no wind. Major frost on the ground at Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle - Ten times bigger than I thought it would be and just so so imposing. You can see what a strategic location it would have been back in the olden days. Bought too many souvenirs - will have to post them back to Oz - my bags are overflowing.
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Frosty ground Brrrrr
Stonehenge - This was quite amazing although I had always envisaged it way way out in a rocky wind swept craggy  field miles from any where. In actual fact it is a nice grassy area in rolling hills surrounded by sheep and right next to the motorway. It sort of took away a little bit of the mysticism....but not much. The big stones came from 250 kms away and each weigh 4 ton. The top lintels are 2 ton and came from only a few miles away but they are actually fitted to the top of the uprights with a tongue and groove system. How the hell would they have been able to transport them and then lift those stone that high back in 2300 BC. I got a T shirt that says Stonehenge Rocks and they are..... and they do.

Amazing

Sheep!!! Made me homesick...so long since I've seen one
Bath - this is an impossibly beautiful town and totally fulfills any preconception you may have of an English town. Any movie you've seen with quaint winding streets, tiny shops, lovely river and gardens...it's all here and unspoiled by time and progress.

Interesting fact - some of the houses date back to the the 1600's and they have windows cemented in and then pretend windows painted on. The government imposed a window tax in the 1600's on each window in a house. The premise being that the more windows you have then the bigger the house therefore you must have more money.  As a result people cemented in their windows to lower their taxes....this made it darker in their houses and gave rise to the expression "daylight robbery". I love this stuff.

Imagine Julius Caesar in the bath with his rubber ducky singing Splish Splah I wuz taking a bath
Bath



The white door is where Jane Austen lived


We got back quite late so I went to my "local" ...The Green Man.....and had fish and chips and a pot of tea.....a perfect end to a perfect day.
My local near the hotel

Lee - this would be heaven for you

My Dinner





5 comments:

  1. did you go to the royal crescent in bath? The crescent was designed by John Woods, below the crescent is a row of tree then below the trees bath city. Another famous quote came from here "you cant see the woods for the trees"!!! meaning the people in Bath couldnt see the royal crescent built by John Woods for the row of trees in the way. Got to love England. xx Glad you are having a great time in old blighty. xx love Sally

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  2. Hey there Sally xx Don't you love all the origins of things we say everyday without thought. I've heard so many since I've been here. Today I'm heading down to Cornwall where I was born and am looking forward to it heaps. Have a great day xx

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  3. Hi Lesley, I'm heading Southward tomorrow, back to what sounds like a very warm Summer. All the best for the remainder of your time in the Northern Hemisphere. I'll keep track of your doings through your blog. I'm in the process of winding mine up now the end is nigh. Keep safe! Cheers, Richard.

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